Do Humans have the monopoly when it comes to stupidity?

 

Most kitchen appliances are a waste of space and resources - why do we keep on buying them?

Over the years, I saw my parents' kitchen cycle through a number of items: bread machine, rolling hand powered mincer, air fryers, food processors, rice cooker. My culinary imagination has not exactly been free from that influence as I had purchased a few myself including a pasta maker, soy milk machine, pirogie press and others.

I am in no way a minimalist : I love to imagine large scale industrial production, at home. New hobby - new tool. Tool on clearance - maybe, I want to try just know what it's like. etc. Parts? Nothing should be thrown out because so much effort and natural non renewable resources went into making something.

While a restaurant's kitchen which frequently makes certain food items that could benefit from reduced labour time in preparation, specialized kitchen appliances are somewhat analogous to automobiles : parked for 95% of their useful life. 

My list of essential kitchen items :

• Knife (2) - not serrated
  
• Sharpening stone
• Sharpening steel ( a second knife can work, but it still isn't quite as good ) 
• Cutting board - wood preferably
• Mixing bowl - a smaller center bottom works best
• Spatulas
• Cookie sheet
• Wooden spoons
• Colander
  
• Skillet, Wok, sauce pan, Boiling pot for pasta/noodles

Machines : 

• Blender - replaces a mortar and pestle for some applications
  
• Water distiller - if you have hard water and do not want to ruin your kettle
  
• Pressure Canner ( stovetop ) - freezing food is best avoided.
  

For beverages, this one may be a little more controversial, but keeping it simple works as well :

• Kettle, electric - safer than a stove top as it stops when boiling is complete.
  
• Coffee preparation  - French Press with pour over filter funnel and carafe. While a French Press makes a rich coffee, the fine and clean taste of a paper or cloth filter makes a great difference.
• Tea pot - sharing makes tea more enjoyable. 
  

The Epitome of Poor Design - The buzzer

When in fear, when in doubt, run in circles, scream and shout.

The buzzer is found everywhere from soy milk makers, to washing machines, dehumidifiers, microwave ovens, bread machines etc.

The reality is that most of the machines that we use are loud enough as it is. A bright charging light is a bad idea, so is a sound that isn't necessary. A WiFi router from 15 years ago had plenty of  bright LEDs, now in 2020, they only have a few LEDs and they're reasonably dim.

For the very least, designers could put the option of disabling the buzzer for non emergency/overheating situations. An option to set the buzzer volume could be good too.

Nevertheless, getting rid of the buzzer altogether would be best. Fewer lines of code, components in a circuit etc. means more stable software.

Less alerts would make our lives a little quieter.

Face it, but I rather not : Firearms are still more deadly than Covid-19

At the beginning of the pandemic, we were all making comparisons with the common flu, diabetes, the opioid crisis, obesity etc. Somehow, motor vehicle accidents, and the harms caused by firearms have become accepted risks in our daily lives.

I disagree. Unnecessary risks should be avoided.  The only people who should have firearms are peace officers or the military - and only under specific circumstances. The monopoly of the tools of violence is to protect the interests of the state, and ultimately protect the people.

Acephalous militia movements where people stockpile weapons may still exist - there's an argument to eliminate the firearms in circulation.

In the case of hunting, people have been successful for tens of thousands of years using bow and arrow, spears,  slingshots etc. We've moved on - technological improvements such as transport and refrigeration, knowledge about the human body and agriculture has made it no longer necessary to eat meat.

Once this pandemic is over, I'm hoping the government will have the will to protect the people and put in legislation, regulation and enforcement to eliminate firearms.

Noisy washer / laundry washing machine during spin cycle - it's the drain pump

Tools Required :

Screwdriver x Phillips/star 

Locking pliers  x 2 (vise grip style

Silicone oil

Rags / Towel

Prevention / Maintenance :

Vinegar / Citric acid as descale or remove lime

Drain cleaner ( alkaline to dissolve oils and grease )

Problem: washer is very noisy during spin cycle.

Objects on or around the washer

My washer was making a rumble sound during the spin cycle. The troubleshooting process brought me to first think it was something on, or around the washer. I removed any objects, and checked that it was properly level. No change.

Bearings ?

Next I thought it could have been the bearings either in the motor or in the tumbler, after removing the paneling and turning it by hand, I couldn't feel or hear any resistance.

Drain Pump

Last, and the most easily accessible, was the drain pump. The front panel at the foot of the washer. Two screws needed to be removed.

As per this image, the bolts are at number 19.

With the washer disconnected from AC/shore power, I removed the plug to the pump motor, unscrewed two screws at the base, use locking pliers to open the pipe clamps on both inlet and outlet.

Install new pump.

When installing the new pump, put some silicone oil on the inlet and outlet to make it easier for the rubber hoses to slip on - don't get any on your hand or tools. It's rather lubricious.

Assembly of a washer drain pump :

All the parts  - laminated core, AC coil, cover, rotor cover.
permanent magnet rotor core, impeller, impeller housing with inlet and outlet

Put the coil over the laminate core

Insert the housing in the laminate core

Be careful - the magnet will draw the core
into the housing very quickly
The problem was here with water getting past the black seal of the shaft.

Instead of replacing the whole unit,
 the pump rotor housing with rotor inside and impeller could have been replaced.

Just replace this as a whole. Coil, laminate core and pump housing were fine.

Gardening - Large Rock Removal in 3 Easy Steps

Tools required:

PPE -  Safety glasses, gloves, shin guards

Shovel

Sledge Hammer 5kg or heavier

Wheel Barrow

Step 1 : Dig around rock. It may be possible to remove and roll out. If not proceed to step 2.

Step 2: Find Fault line or weakness and smash to bits. On sedimentary rocks, this will be rather evident, however igneous and metamorphic rocks, it will take more effort to determine where to hit. The golden rule about minerals : strong in compression, not so much in tension. Like glass, a small cut on one side with an impact can create a clean break.

If available, use a chisel, SDS hammer drill, etc to drill holes at a certain distance and use plug and feather.

Step 3 : Remove broken rock as you go. The less loose rock is a better absorption of impact by the large rock.

Stumped - Using a 3d printer

When I got my Fused Deposition Modeling 3D printer in late 2017, I was quite excited. The hype had passed, the technology matured, but it was a toy nonetheless.  The excitement faded for the following reasons :

• if you want anything to last, it should be made of stone, wood, fabric, metal or ceramic;
• if it isn't mass produced, you most probably don't need it - pierogie/dumpling maker, custom pasta die, game controller to fit adult hands... all nice to have, but not needed;
• making a die and counter die could be good for casting plaster, aluminum or brass where a the lost foam or PLA casting could be possible. A foundry would thus be necessary;
• Prototyping is certainly cheaper when sketched on a computer and printed, however it's often faster to make a prototype from cardboard, wood, metal, wax, clay, sheets of plastic etc.
  

So where should I go from here? Simple and inexpensive re-purposing of the plastic pumping machine could include :

• PCB milling
• Paper Laser cutting
  
• Plasma cutter attached to carriage
  

If you have any ideas what a consumer 3D printer can really be used for, let me know.